Hornets find a way to get past rival Panthers
EDITOR’S NOTE: In this time of COVID-19, with no sports action, BryantDaily.com will be posting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
File photo by Kevin Nagle
There was no time for the Bryant Hornets to dwell on their rough 2-0 loss at Conway in 7A-Central Conference on Tuesday and that’s probably for the best. The Hornets got right back on the field on Wednesday to play another arch-rival, the Benton Panthers, in a non-conference contest.
The Hornets hit the ball, scored runs, took advantage of an opponent’s mistakes, got a break or two, benefitted from some bulldog pitching that included the team’s first save of the season in a 7-5 win at Bryant High School Field.
And there’s actually not much time to savor the win either as they get right back to conference play on Thursday at home against an improving Fort Smith Northside Grizzlies team.
A wild six-run third innings put Bryant in position to win. But they had to hold on as the Panthers kept whittling on the lead. An opportunistic insurance run scored in the bottom of the sixth then Benton, which spanked 11 hits, loaded the bases in the top of the seventh.
Beau Brewer picked up his third hit for the Panthers to open the seventh and, after freshman right-hander Austin Ledbetter struck out pinch-hitter Jaden Woolbright, Jared Kelley drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch.
Ledbetter, who had relieved starter Scott Schmidt in the fifth, gave way to Myers Buck who hit Logan Black with his fourth pitch, loading the bases. But he proceeded to get Payton Pallette to pop out to Gage Stark in left before ending the game in style with a strikeout.
“Coach (Mark) Balisterri does a great job,” said Hornets head coach Travis Queck of the Benton head coach. “He’s got a good squad this year. They’re going to make a big run in the (Class 6A) tournament.
“I’m glad we got the win, especially in between two conference dates,” he continued. “The guys did a good job and took advantage of their mistakes. And, always, being a Bryant alum, it’s good to beat Benton.”
The game was plagued by errors. Benton committed four, all in the six-run third, while the Hornets had three miscues.
A key play came in the top of the fourth when the Panthers were trying to rally. With a run in with one out, the bases were loaded with Preston Fleeman at the plate. He hit a hard grounder to the right of Bryant shortstop Coby Greiner. The runner at second, Kelley, ran in front of Greiner and leaped up. Greiner made the play and threw to second for a force, which would’ve resulted in another run for the Panthers with their best hitter Logan Easterling coming to the plate with two out. But Kelley was called out for interfering with Greiner’s ability to field the ball and, as ruled, affecting the Hornets’ chances of turning an inning-ending doubleplay. Thus, the Hornets were awarded two outs and the inning came to an end.
At first, it looked like Kelley might’ve been hit by the batted ball but that would’ve resulted in a dead ball and the play at second would not have counted. Or, if it had been simple interference, Kelley would’ve been out and the bases would’ve been loaded with the runner at third, by rule, coming back to the base, Fleeman awarded first and the runner at first, Pallette, allowed to take second. Balisterri argued but the play stood and the Bryant lead remained 6-2.
“We got some things to go our way,” Queck related. “And it’s about time.
“I was telling (the players), the margin of victory is that much,” he added, holding his thumb and first finger just an inch apart. “We had a couple of opportunities against Cabot and other games throughout the year where we hit line drives and you couldn’t get back and got doubled off. We had a passed ball against somebody and it hit the backstop and rolled back, and they got us out at the plate. The backstop got us out. It’s that.
“And it goes back to the details of things,” the coach related. “And that’s the things we’re going to stress the rest of the year. These guys are confident. We’ve just got to keep getting better, keep finding those little tweaks that we’ve got to make. I really think it’s going to click for us real soon.”
The Panthers had taken a 1-0 lead in the second when Brewer singled, was sacrificed to second by Payton Hudgens and scored on Kelley’s single to center.
In the third, Logan Easterling singled with one out, but Schmidt retired the next two to keep it 1-0.
Meanwhile, Benton right-hander Yates Prickett had held the Hornets to one hit through two innings. The third began with a shot off the pitcher’s leg by Buck. The ball ricocheted to Pallette charging in from third. Pallette threw to first but it was wild, and Buck sprinted to third.
Logan Chambers ripped the very next pitch to center for an RBI single to make it 1-1.
Things got a little crazy from there. Prickett was called for a balk and Chambers was awarded second. Greiner laid down a sacrifice bunt that Prickett fielded. But his throw to first was errant and runners wound up at second and third.
Schmidt followed with a humpbacked liner to right for a base hit to drive in Chambers. Kelley, the second baseman, tracked down the ball and threw to the plate but the throw was errant allowing Greiner to score as well, making it 3-1.
With K.J. Merriweather in at second as a courtesy runner for the pitcher, he took off for third and Prickett, without stepping off the rubber, threw to third, another balk. So Merriweather was awarded the bag.
The Benton right-hander came back to get a strikeout and had Austin Ledbetter down 1-2. But Ledbetter muscled a looping liner over the shortstop’s head for an RBI single to make it 4-1.
Peyton Dillon flew out to right for the second out but Jake Wright, coming in amidst an 0-for-10 slump, blasted a 2-1 pitch to the base of the fence in left. Ledbetter sprinted home and, when the relay from the outfield got through two Benton players, Wright wound up at third.
The next pitch, Brandon Hoover singled up the middle to make it 6-1.
The Hornets provided a little help to the Panthers in return in the top of the fourth. Brewer singled and took second when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. Hudgins hit a grounder to Griener at deep short and, when he tried to get Brewer going to third, his throw was errant. Brewer scored and Hudgens wound up at second. Kelley beat out an infield hit and, after Wright made a fine play on a foul pop near the Benton dugout to retire Black, Pallette was plunked by a pitch to load the bases for Fleeman, setting up the interference call.
Prickett pitched around a single by Greiner and a walk the Schmidt in the bottom of the fourth and the Panthers trimmed another run off the lead in the top of the fifth. Logan Easterling’s long double resulted in a pitching change with Ledbetter taking over for Schmidt. Drew Chilton hit a grounder to third. Chambers checked courtesy runner Dalton Pugh before throwing to first for the out. But, as soon as he made the throw, Pugh took off for third. Dillon, the Bryant first baseman, fired back to Chambers at third but the throw sailed, and Pugh scored to make it 6-3.
Caleb Easterling then ripped a double to right-center to give the Panthers a chance to get more but Ledbetter struck out Brewer and Hudgens to end the uprising.
Bryant’s fifth provided an opportunity to add on when Wright was hit by a pitch with one out and both Buck and Chambers walked with two down. Prickett got Greiner to hit a foul ball down the right field line that Kelley tracked down to end the threat.
But consecutive one-out singles by pinch-hitter Michael Allison, Pallette and Wes Guerra, another pinch-hitter made it 6-4. A walk to Logan Easterling loaded the bases. Chilton then made a bid for an extra-base hit that would might’ve put Benton ahead. But he was robbed by Chambers, who made a diving stop to his right. He got up and stepped on third for a force then tried to throw home to double up Pallette. On a bang-bang play, Pallette was ruled safe and it was 6-5.
Ledbetter got out of the inning with no further damage when Caleb Easterling skied out to Buck in right.
The extra run for Bryant was a bit unusual. Schmidt led off the home sixth with an infield hit then Matthew Sandidge beat out a bunt for a hit. Ledbetter got a good bunt down to move the runners to second and third. With the infield in, Prickett got Dillon to hit a high pop outside of first. The ball was headed towards the fence just past the Benton dugout where Black, the Panthers’ first sacker, jumped up and snagged it as he came down bent double over the top of the fence.
Alertly, Logan Grant, running for Schmidt, tagged up on the play and scored to make it 7-5, setting up the dramatic finish in the top of the seventh.
The Hornets improved to 14-5-1 on the season.
“We swung it a little bit today,” Queck acknowledged. “And that’s the thing. Yesterday (against Conway), we were aggressive and that’s what I wanted to see. That’s a big thing against people that are going to throw strikes, be aggressive. This time of year, they are throwing strikes.
“Early on, they may walk a couple and you kind of get in a lull,” he said. “I think we got into that lull. It’s been two years that we’ve gotten into that lull. The coaching staff, we’ll evaluate that at the end of the year. But they’re not going to give it to you anymore. You’ve got to earn it. So, let’s start being aggressive, try to drive the ball all over the park.”
